


Noir, the Trickster

by orphan_account



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, It's Kamoshida what do you expect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24781834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In an interrogation room deep underground, Sae Nijima sits down to interrogate the elusive leader of the Phantom Thieves, finally captured. Haru Okumura is ready to oblige her. This is the story of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and their leader, Noir.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Haru doesn't get enough time to shine in the game, so I thought, why not pull a switcharoo and give her the role as main protagonist? Now she'll have more time than any other character! I honestly don't know if I'll continue this story, but I at least wanna get a chapter out. Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more!

“She’s heading to the side lobby; stop her!” The order went through the walkie talkies of the casino’s security staff too little too late. Emerging from an air duct and onto the rafters above the casino lobby was a girl in a renaissance-style outfit. She adjusted her feathered cap and narrowed her eyes, which were kept in shadow thanks to the hat and the black mask she wore. She unhooked a grappling hook from her belt, aimed at the next rafter, and fired.

The hook latched on to the metal beam, giving the girl reason to grin. She backed up a few steps and broke into a sprint, leaping off the rafter she was on. As she soared over a crowd of people, all of whom quickly panicked upon seeing her, she thanked her lucky stars that she had fared well in her physics class. That knowledge helped her to properly make use of the momentum in her swing to be flung back up towards the ceiling, landing on a neon-tinged chandelier. She pulled the grapple gun’s trigger, sending the rope recoiling back into the device.

A young girl’s voice called out through her earpiece. “Noir, take the service door to your right. Hurry!” Noir leapt from the chandelier to another rafter hugging a wall. Spotting a door on the far side, she sprinted over, unstrapping a hefty grenade launcher from her back. Once she arrived, she slammed the butt of the weapon against the doorknob, snapping it clean off and forcing the door open.

The service halls were plastered with stickers that bore phrases such as “Winner takes all” and “Jackpot” to an absurd degree. Noir paid them no heed. “We can’t afford to miss this chance,” a boy warned over the earpiece.

“Don’t worry,” another boy chimed in. “Noir’s got this.” She grinned at the show of confidence that her teammate gave.

“Noir, I don’t mean to make you worry, but I’m getting an unfamiliar reading heading your way. You might wanna pick up the pace!”

“Dude,” a gruff boy said, “I’m sure she’s going as fast as she can.”

“How about we focus on getting out ourselves!?” someone said. Noir decided to stop paying attention to the bickering. She went through another door and found herself on a balcony overlooking the front lobby, her exit point. At the opposite end of the massive area was an ornate stained-glass window and the exit. The problem was that between her and that escape route was a group of very angry guards.

“There she is!” one of the men shouted, pointing Noir’s way. As the others turned to look at her, they began to bend and flex unnaturally, their bones snapping and their skin turning to a purple muck. For a moment, they more resembled an approximation of people, before their forms melted entirely, shifting into various monsters.

Noir would’ve been worried if she hadn’t grown plenty used to this situation. Holding her launcher up, she aimed right at the group of them and fired. She almost pitied the poor things for the moment before the grenade hit one of them head-on, exploding into a fireball. While the direct target was incinerated on the spot, the others were blown back by the force of the blast, sent flying off the balcony.

“Noir, more enemies behind you!” The warning came through Noir’s earpiece just in time. She spun around, seeing more guards, now taking on their slimy, humanoid form, rushing from where she just came in. She aimed once again, ready to blow them away just like before, but when she pressed the trigger, nothing happened.

Noir cursed herself for not having realized the drum was empty. The monsters were approaching fast, giving her no time to reload. So she tossed the launcher to the side and grabbed her other main weapon from her back: a hefty executioner’s axe. Even with the axe, she worried she wouldn’t be able to take them on, as they were already getting closer. Surely she could hit one with ease, but in the time it would take her to get ready for another swing, one of the others could take advantage and strike.

Regardless, Noir tightly gripped her weapon, ready for a fight. What she wasn’t ready for was a gunshot to ring out behind her, accompanied by a fresh hole in one of the monsters’ faces. “Huh?” the girl in her earpiece said. “The strange reading, it’s…it’s right there! But now the enemy readings have dropped by one. Noir, what’s happening over there!?”

Noir backed up to the crumbling edge of the balcony, not wanting to risk turning around to check what was behind her and potentially giving her enemies an opening. She could hear the subdued sound of footsteps across the metal rafters abruptly halt. Then, a second later, a familiar face landed gracefully next to her. The redhead clad in black looked at Noir, nodding with a smile. “I’m glad I got here in time, senpai.”

The red-haired girl returned her attention to the enemies just in time to unsheathe the rapier at her side and decapitate a monster that had tried to rush them. Returning her blade to its sheathe, she grabbed a repeating shotgun from the other side of her waist and aimed it at the group. Her eyes were locked onto her foes, narrowed into a laser focus. “Go. I’ll keep them busy so you can escape.”

“Kasu—” Noir stopped herself, not wanting to let the redhead’s name slip. “Why are you here?”

“I may not be a Phantom Thief, but I’m still your friend. It’s time for me to save you. Now please, go!” With that, she ran towards the group, firing a heavy slug from her shotgun in her left hand and grabbing her rapier with her right.

Noir hesitated for a moment, but the resolve that her friend displayed was enough to sway her. She turned to face the lobby, which still had plenty of civilians running around, trying to get out of the chaos. She knelt down to grab her grenade launcher and strapped it to her back, along with her axe. Grabbing her grappling hook once again, she fired at the closest rafter and let herself be yanked up.

The sounds of fighting grew more distant as Noir landed on the rafter. She jumped between the series of beams, being careful not to lose her footing. However, as she neared the exit, she saw a group of guards gathering at the doors. “Oracle,” she said into her earpiece, “I have enemies blocking the exit. Where do I go now?”

“There’s no other way out!” Oracle exclaimed. “Every other exit has already been blocked off by security. You’ll need to improvise!” Noir would’ve looked around for another way out, but she trusted Oracle’s advice. So, she did exactly as she was told, running straight forward, towards the stained-glass window. She improvised.

Noir honestly felt bad about crashing through the stained-glass window. She wasn’t one to discredit good aesthetics, and the glass certainly was the centerpiece of the whole lobby. Still, she needed a way out. Upon hitting the concrete, she took a moment to catch her breath. “Guys,” she said, holding her hand to her earpiece, “is everyone okay?”

“We’re good, Noir.” Oracle sounded confident in her assessment. “Now hurry up and get out of there. We can’t afford to—” Blinding lights came on, just about blinding Noir. She held her arm in front of her eyes to try and help them adjust. “Wait, what!? A bunch of enemy signatures just appeared! Noir, what’s wrong!?”

Blue and red flashed amidst the white as Noir began to make out what had to be dozens of silhouettes. “Sorry, everyone,” Noir said. “You’re gonna have to leave me behind.” The odds of escaping from a force this large were next to none.

“What!? Noir, we’re not just gonna leave you!”

“Please.” Noir closed her eyes for a moment. “Just escape.” The police swarmed in on her. She put up a token resistance, trying to run to the side, but only more officers awaited her. She went down fighting, slammed onto the pavement and cuffed.

One of the officers approached her, getting on one knee and chuckling. “I didn’t expect the leader of the Phantom Thieves to be this cute. It’s a shame we’ll have to hurt such a pretty face. But that’s how it goes when you don’t watch your back. You’ve been sold out.”

The words echoed in Noir’s mind as she was dragged into the back of a police van. She tried to keep calm, but all of that changed when she was injected with something. Everything began to blur and melt, replaced with an unbearable heat stuffing her head. She vaguely recalled being brought into a large building and locked in an interrogation room.

By the time her senses began to return, she was already being beaten by the men assigned with getting her to talk. She was in her school uniform now, stripped of all her gear. Someone was saying something, but it all still seemed so far away.

A bucketful of icy water drenched her, properly waking her up. She coughed and sputtered as one of the men grabbed her hair and yanked, forcing her to look forward. One of them leaned forward, his face inches away from hers. “You listening, bitch? I’m not gonna take any disrespect from you.” She was let go of, allowing her to slump back down in her seat. “Now, how about you look me in the eyes without any help.” She complied, forcing herself to sit up straight, staring at him. “There we go.” He grinned.

Noir tried to speak. “I’m not going to—” A punch to her gut interrupted her, knocking all of the air out of her.

“Did I say you could speak?” the man asked. “Then again, a rich bitch like you is probably used to getting her way.” He stood up and took a few steps back, looking down at his clipboard. “Haru Okumura. Only child of Kunikazu Okumura. I gotta say, I love me some Big Bang Burger. Seems like you do too. I mean, how else could a Phantom Thief have so much flab?”

“Never heard that one before…” Haru muttered, too tired and drugged to care about being polite. She was rewarded for that response with a slap to the face.

“I suppose daddy must’ve spoiled you rotten, huh?” the man asked. “And you decided to go against people like him. What an ungrateful brat. Still, to think a kid was behind all those incidents.”

Things began to blur together again. Haru vaguely remembered being forced to sign something and finally being left alone. But just as she was finally given a chance to sleep, a woman walked in and sat across from her, setting a binder on the table.

“Can you understand me?” the woman asked Haru, snapping her finger. “What in the world did they inject you with?”

“I can…” Haru nodded her head. “I’m just really tired…”

“Stay with me.” The woman stared into Haru’s eyes. “You still remember me, don’t you?”

“Sae…” Haru took a breath. “Sae Nijima. You’re Makoto’s—”

“Yes,” Sae said. “But she isn’t important here. I’ve only been given so much time to talk to you. The question is if you’re going to talk to me. “

“What makes you think I will?” Haru asked.

“Because I’m the only one who cares about what happens to you, Haru. I’m the closest thing you have right now to someone on your side. Now, if you’re coherent enough, start talking.” Sae leaned back in her seat, folding her arms and crossing her legs. “Why did you start the Phantom Thieves? And how? Did it have anything to do with the train?”

“The train…” Haru muttered, looking down. Even in her current state, the memory was crystal clear.

* * *

Haru nervously pulled down on the edge of her pastel pink cardigan. The weather was still cold enough to warrant it, but all the people crowded together on the metro made her feel insufferably hot. It wasn’t as if she had gotten dressed expecting to be here, after all; she was supposed to be meeting her father for lunch. But something came up, and the whole thing was canceled. She hadn’t mustered up much enthusiasm beforehand, so she wasn’t too disappointed. Instead, the news combined with the heat in the tram to give her a stifling sense of melancholy.

Gazing around at her fellow passengers, Haru saw most of them staring down at their phones. Those fortunate enough to grab seats were taking advantage; some were reading books, while others had laptops or notebooks out. She couldn’t recall a time she had ever gotten a seat in one of these cars. Then again, she rarely used the metro to begin with. She only decided to take the subway as a spur of the moment decision. At least that way something interesting would happen.

The train car bumped roughly, jostling the passengers about. A man pushed into Haru, forcing her to grab a handrail to keep herself from losing her balance. A soft whimper escaped her lips, but she remained silent otherwise. “Watch where you’re going,” the man said to her as if it were somehow her fault.

“Sorry,” Haru muttered, knowing full well she had nothing to be sorry for. After taking a few moments to ensure the turbulence had ended, she let go of the handrail and brushed some stray strands of hair from her face. She turned to look out one of the windows before remembering that they were underground. Even though it was a small mistake that nobody else noticed, it was enough to make her blush in embarrassment.

A familiar tune started to play from Haru’s pocket, accompanied by the buzz of her phone. She hurriedly grabbed it, realizing with further embarrassment that she had forgotten to set it to silent. Her face couldn’t help but soften into dissatisfaction as she saw “father” on the screen. Still, she knew she couldn’t just not answer. So she slid her thumb across the phone and held it up to her ear. “Hello?” she said.

“Haru, where the hell are you?” Her father seemed agitated. “Your bodyguards called me and said you didn’t show up at the car.”

“Hm?” Haru raised an eyebrow. “I texted them that I was going to take the metro. Did the message not send?” Having been in Kichijoji, she found it hard to believe the reception could’ve been bad enough to prevent the text from properly being delivered.

“The metro!? Don’t get on any of the trains. Just stay there and I’ll send them over.” The agitation in his voice grew into something more resembling worry. Or at least, that’s how it sounded to Haru. She could hear him muttering, “damn those morons, I’ll have them fired.”

“There’s no need for that, father,” Haru tried to insist. “Boris and Tomoe aren’t at fault. I should have checked to see if the message was sent properly.” She knew that his muttering wasn’t meant for her ears, but she didn’t want something bad to happen to her bodyguards because of something out of their control. “Don’t worry, the train’s going to stop soon. I’ll see where it ends up and let them know so they can come pick me up.”

“You’re _on a train!?_ ” Her father’s screaming was loud enough to hurt her ear. A few nearby passengers glanced over as she winced, having heard the intensity of his voice. “Are you an idiot? What have I told you about—”

“Yes, I know, they’re dirty and filled with strangers,” Haru repeated her father’s warnings about the metro, though the monotone in her voice made it clear how little she truly agreed or cared. “I’ll apologize to you when you get home, alright?”

“What train are you on!?” There was something new in her father’s voice now. It almost sounded like…fear? What in the world was going on with him?

Haru found herself stumbling over her words. “I-I don’t know. I didn’t, erm…”

“Damnit! _Damnit!_ ” The phone began to emit monotone beeps.

“Father? Father, what’s…” Haru pulled her phone down, looking at her home screen, where the date “4/10” was sitting under the time. She typed in her password, planning to call him back, only for something strange to catch her eye. There was an app that she didn’t recognize, showing what looked almost like an eye emblazoned over a bright red background. What struck her as the oddest part about it was how it seemed to be pulsating. “When did I download this?” she whispered to herself.

The train car shook again, more violently this time. There were a few soft cries of surprise as the passengers started looking around. Compared to the last time, where few people if any seemed to care, this had them worried. Was this not normal for a subway? Haru felt the unmistakable sensation of the tram’s speed increasing. The lights began to flicker, and panic set in amongst the crowd.

The shaking didn’t stop this time, instead growing worse as the speed kept picking up. Haru slid her phone back in her pocket as her heart began pounding. Someone near the front end of the car knocked on the door. “Hey! What’s going on!?” Voices erupted across the car.

“The hell? This isn’t normal!”

“Mommy? What’s happening?”

“Hey, somebody stop this thing!”

The lights shut off completely as the passengers, Haru included, were flung to the ground. The back of her head impacted the handrail, leaving her disoriented with a dull pain beginning to throb at the point of impact. Haru grabbed onto a nearby armrest and held on for dear life. For a moment, amidst the chaos, she could’ve sworn she saw what looked like a butterfly gliding through the air on glowing blue wings. The voice of the announcer could be heard going off with her general pleasantness as the screeching of the train grew louder.

“Now arriving in Shibuya. Now arriving in Shibuya. Thank you for—”

The train went off the rails, crashing into the platform. Haru went flying across the car, screaming in terror. The only thought running through her mind was the knowledge that she was going to die. Upon impact, her vision went black.

When Haru’s eyes opened, she was looking up at an unfamiliar dark ceiling. Her eyes drifted down, noticing the strange outfit she was in. It looked just like a prisoner’s outfit, complete with black and white striped. The pants and shirt smelled like dust and grime and had a few small tears. Sitting up from the bed she was in, she looked around at the room she was in. No – calling it a room wasn’t accurate. Haru was in a prison cell.

The clanking of metal drew Haru’s attention to her wrists, which she realized had been shackled together by chains. Looking down, she realized her ankles had been put in the same situation. She awkwardly got off the bunk, trying not to trip over the chains. Besides the bed, all the cell contained was an oddly clean toilet.

“Well, look who’s finally awake!” Looking towards the source of the harsh voice, Haru saw two little girls standing on the other side of the locked door to her cell. They looked oddly similar, with blonde hair, strange blue uniforms, and eyepatches. The one with a baton glared at her. “Who gave you permission to stare at us, inmate?”

The girl with a clipboard in her hand closed her eyes, sighing. “Perhaps it is more accurate to say that you are finally asleep.” Her gentler tone created an odd contrast between the twins. “Now the process towards rehabilitation can finally begin.”

“Rehabilitation…?” Haru looked at the girls, trying to process what was going on. “What happened? Why aren’t I on the train?” Haru felt around her body for injuries but found none. “Why aren’t I dead?”

“Hmph!” The baton-wielding twin crossed her arms. “If a silly little crash like that would be enough to kill you, you wouldn’t be worthy of rehabilitation. Be thankful!”

A dark, gravelly voice came from behind the twins. “Now now, girls; let us give our guest a moment to breathe. She has, after all, suffered quite the misfortune.” All three of them looked to the center of the panopticon outside of Haru’s cell. Sitting at an expensive-looking desk was a man that Haru could only describe as scary, with huge, bloodshot eyes and a long hook of a nose. “I extend my greetings to you, Trickster.”  
“Trickster?” Haru blinked, taking in the surreal environment she had found herself in. One of the twins slammed her baton against the bars of the cell door, causing Haru to take a step back, frightened.

“Hmph! Seems all the inmate can do is play the role of a mimic. Is she really supposed to be a Trickster?”

The other twin glanced at her more aggressive counterpart. “Calm down, Caroline. Our master would not be incorrect in his judgment.”

“Are you implying that I doubt our master, Justine!?”

The hook-nosed man clasped his hands together. “Girls, please remember that we have a guest with us.”

“You hear that, inmate? Our master acknowledges your presence. Shed tears of joy!” Caroline whacked the door again.

“I don’t understand.” Haru shook her head. “Where am I? What’s going on?”

“Haru Okumura,” the man said, grinning crookedly. “Call me Igor. Welcome to my Velvet Room. You are here because of the contract you have signed into.”

Haru stepped forward, grabbing onto the bars of her cell door. “I didn’t sign any contract.”

“Ah, but you have. Your will for rebellion, so heavily suppressed, is now beginning to emerge. Even an act as simple as taking the subway against your father’s wishes is enough to allow a glimpse into your true self. And that self bears the unmistakable sign of a Trickster.”

“You must have me confused for someone else,” Haru said, trying to stay calm. “I don’t trick people. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Ah, but you are.” Igor’s smile seemed to only grow wider. “And as a Trickster, you have been granted a precious opportunity. This is a cruel, unjust world. Even with your wealth, you can not escape that fact. But you possess the will to break free of the oppression surrounding you and prevent ruin.”

“I don’t understand,” Haru said, gripping the bars tighter. “None of this is making any sense…”

“In time,” Igor said, “you will come to understand the affairs of the world, as well as your place in them. For now, however, we must part ways. But know that I will be eagerly anticipating your rehabilitation.”

“That means go to bed, inmate!” Caroline shouted.

“Fear not,” Justine added, “for we will meet again.” A wave of nausea hit Haru, forcing her to sit on the bunk so she wouldn’t lose her balance. Sitting turned into laying as she put a hand on her forehead, feeling the overwhelming feeling of sickness force her into a deep sleep. Her body felt heavy, as if her blood had turned to sand.

Upon waking up again, that feeling of weight didn’t go away. Haru squinted up at harsh fluorescent lighting, realizing quickly that she was no longer in that prison. The steady beeping of a heart monitor clued her in to her new whereabouts. She was in a spacious hospital room, dressed in a standard gown, and kept on an IV drip that was currently tapping into a vein in her arm. “Hello?” she called out, receiving no answer. She looked around until she spotted a small remote with a red button sitting next to her bed, labeled “press for assistance.”

Haru reached over, fumbling for a moment before she grabbed the remote and pressed the button. No sound or sign came as a result, and after about a minute of waiting, she wondered if it was even working. Her worries were thankfully proven wrong when a nurse walked into her room, sending a barrage of questions her way. She tried to answer them all to the best of her ability, but she was still a little woozy.

“Is there any pain?” the nurse asked, shining a flashlight into Haru’s eyes. She was starting to get tired of bright lights.

“My whole body hurts,” Haru answered.

“I’ll see if we can up the dosage on your painkillers. How about feelings of lethargy? Is it hard to move?” Haru nodded at the nurse’s question. After a few more queries, the nurse seemed satisfied. “Well, you’re a very lucky young lady. You have minimal injuries aside from some very heavy bruising on your back and your left leg. Those are going to look and feel awful for the next couple of weeks. You’ve also got some big cuts, so don’t pick at the scabbing when that starts appearing.”

“I understand,” Haru said. “If I might ask, what exactly happened to me?”

The nurse raised an eyebrow. “Do you not remember? Is your memory alright? You were in an accident.”

Haru shook her head. “No, I remember. I just…thought maybe I had imagined it.” So the crash was real, then. “What happened to the other passengers?”

“They’re being treated here as well. Most weren’t as fortunate as you.”

“I…I see.” Haru’s face softened. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Well, the silver lining is that you’re doing very well. You’ve been unconscious for about a day now, which is shorter than expected. In fact, you could be released as soon as tomorrow if everything checks out. Is there any reason you can think of that would need you to stay?”

“Well…” Haru recalled her time in that prison, the Velvet Room. “I had a very strange dream. I was in a cell, and there was a strange man.”

The nurse gave a comforting smile. “Dreams like that are generally the result of the painkillers in the IV drip. They’re nothing to worry about.” The nurse soon left the room, but not before handing Haru the remote to the room’s television. She was still having a hard time processing the recent string of events that had put her in this hospital bed. After a few seconds of channel surfing, Haru tuned in to a news station that was reporting on the accident.

A neat-looking man stood in front of an absolute wreck of a train platform, with slabs of concrete demolished and flung around. The wreck of the tram still sat there, lodged between two support pillars. “Authorities are still trying to figure out what exactly caused this incident. The conductor claims to have no memory of what happened, leading some to believe it may have been the result of poor track maintenance. A definitive death toll has not been established, but sources indicate the current number is around a half dozen. The survivors are—”

Haru changed the channel. Hearing that phrase, “death toll,” made her feel ill. She had seen the people in the tram. She was one of them. Knowing that some of them were dead, that she could’ve easily been one of them, was too frightening to bear. She eventually settled on an inoffensive sitcom that helped her take her mind off things, if only a little.

Occasionally a nurse or doctor would check in on Haru, making sure everything was alright. But nobody she actually knew ever showed up. She once asked about her father, but she was met with a look of pity as she was told that he “couldn’t make it at this time.” She supposed it was her fault for expecting anything else from him of all people.

It was in the afternoon that a nurse informed Haru she had a visitor from school. She wasn’t sure who to expect; it wasn’t as if she had any friends who would check on her. It turned out to be Makoto Nijima, the student council president, who was holding a bouquet of sunflowers. “Hello, Okumura-san,” Makoto said with a smile. “The school heard about the incident, and wanted to let you know that we’re here for you.”

“Thank you so much,” Haru said, grateful that anyone was visiting her at all. “You can set the flowers on the table over there.” Makoto nodded, walking over to the table and putting the flowers down.

“Have the doctors said how long you’ll have to be here?” Makoto asked.

“So far, I’m on track to be discharged tomorrow.”

“That’s wonderful.” Makoto looked around the room. “I’m sure you must be aching to get out of this stuffy place.”

“It’s not all bad. The doctors have been very kind to me. And I get my own T.V!” They both giggled at Haru’s little joke. “But yes, I am looking forward to leaving. I really just want things to go back to normal.”

“I can understand that.” Makoto nodded. “If you need anything, let me know. I’d be glad to help you out.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Nijima-san. The flowers are beautiful.”

“Oh,” Makoto said, reaching into her pocket. “I almost forgot. I do hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…” She pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper and handed it to Haru. “I took the liberty of copying my notes for the classes we share. We’re having a test on them on Friday.”

Haru took the paper. “I guess school waits for no one.”

“Be glad you got excused from the homework,” Makoto said with a morose chuckle. “They really laid it on thick today. Do you think you’ll take some time off from school to recover, or…”

“No, no.” Haru shook her head. “I’m going to try and show up after I get discharged. So the day after tomorrow if it works out.”

“I see. Oh, in that case...” Makoto grabbed her phone. “Let’s exchange numbers. You can let me know if it works out, or if you’re going to have to stay longer. I’ll make sure to let Principal Kobayakawa know for you.”

“Okay. You’re a lifesaver!” Haru grabbed her phone, and they swapped numbers. Haru added it to her list of contacts, which included her father, her bodyguards, and a few delivery places. It felt weird having the number of someone her age in her phone.

Haru wanted Makoto to stay a while longer, but she knew that Makoto had her own things to deal with, so when it was time for her to leave, Haru didn’t protest. Instead, she thanked Makoto once more, waving as she stepped out of the room. Once again, Haru was alone. This time, the loneliness hurt a lot more.

The doctors had Haru on her feet by the next morning, making sure she could still walk around without any issue. Her left leg hurt like crazy, but that only caused a bit of a limp. Otherwise, she could move around fine, if a bit sluggishly. By noon she was discharged. Someone must’ve let her father know, because her bodyguards were waiting for her outside the hospital. They didn’t look at her differently than they had any other time, but she preferred it that way. She didn’t want any pity from them, and she certainly didn’t want to find out if her father had almost fired them thanks to her mistake.

The ride home was silent; Haru never made much conversation with her bodyguards to begin with, but now the silence was punctuated by a feeling of awkwardness. She used her phone to distract herself, texting Makoto that she would be at school tomorrow. She scrolled through her phone, looking for a mindless game to play to help keep herself busy, but instead, she found her attention drawn to that app with the eyeball, the one she had found right before the train crash. It wasn’t pulsating like before, leading her to wonder if she had imagined it. Either way, it made her uncomfortable. She slid it into her phone’s recycle bin, assuming she must’ve installed it on accident.

Traffic was heavy, and Haru didn’t have to think hard to figure out why. She checked a few news websites about the tram incident, and at this point, it seemed set in stone that poor maintenance and lax safety regulations had led to the incident. Some executive resigned from his position, which was enough to calm down the public. It didn’t make her feel any better.

Every little bump in the road made Haru’s back ache, reminding her of the ugly purple and brown bruises that covered it top to bottom. A cut running across her right hand’s knuckles made it hurt whenever she squeezed it into a fist. It felt like any sort of movement ended up making some part of her body feel awful.

Arriving at the penthouse felt far better than it had any right to. All Haru wanted to do was collapse in her bed and sleep. Her bodyguards only followed her as far as the front doors of the building, finally giving her some privacy. She found it ironic how quickly she was already wanting to be alone. Still, despite that, there was some part of her that wanted her father to be waiting for her in the penthouse. Even if it was just to give her a scolding, she would’ve taken it. But he wasn’t home. No doubt staying late at work again, she imagined.

Before going to bed, Haru checked her phone last time, seeing she had gotten a text from Makoto.

**I’m glad to hear you’ll be coming to school. How are you feeling?**

Haru paused for a moment, staring down at the screen before typing.

**I’m feeling great. I can’t wait!**

Setting her phone on her nightstand, Haru climbed into bed and curled up under the covers. It was then, completely alone and surrounded by the torrent emotions that she had barely staved off the past two days, that she finally allowed herself to cry. And she didn’t stop crying until she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not sure if I'll make this a long-term story, but I drummed up enough for a second chapter. As always, let me know what you think and if you wanna see more.

Though the Okumura penthouse was a lonely place, that didn’t stop Haru from trying to make the best of it. Her room, one of the few things in her life she was given free rein over, was decorated exactly to her liking. A cabinet across from her white bed contained an assortment of china for her teatime, and flowers dotted the space, giving it a feeling of life. It was, in every sense, dainty.

One could be forgiven for thinking Haru was similarly delicate. But when she stepped out of the penthouse to go to school and saw her bodyguards waiting in the hall, she shoved right past one of them in a surprising show of strength. “Tell my father that I’ll be perfectly fine on my own,” she said, not even looking back at them. “If you follow me, I’ll have you fired.” It was a toothless threat – she knew she didn’t have the authority to do it – but it was enough to keep them where they were.

As if to spite her father, as well as her fears, Haru decided to take a train to Shujin. However, due to an unexpected scheduling error (no doubt caused by the accident), Haru found herself forced to step out quite a ways before her intended destination. She initially planned to simply take another train the rest of the way, but when she saw how long the lines had grown, she decided walking would probably be faster.

The thing about being shepherded around most of one’s life is that they end up not really knowing their hometown. This was true for Haru, who quickly realized that despite being a Tokyo native, she didn’t have a good idea of how to get to Shujin. She tried using her phone’s GPS, but it gave her a series of complex instructions that she wasn’t quite sure she could follow. Just how reliant had she been on others getting her to her destination? Did she truly have no sense of direction?

Haru started trying to look for things she recognized. She could at least parse that she was in Aoyama Itchome, which was where she could find the academy, so it was just a matter of locating it. For a while, that seemed like an impossible task. That was, at least, until she spotted two Shujin students. The uniform was unmistakable, even if one of the students was clearly doing everything in his power to violate the dress code. She hurried after them, hoping they’d lead her to the school.

“I mean, screw Kamoshida, man!” the dress-code violator exclaimed. “I’m telling you, he’s a total scum of the earth type.” Kamoshida? Haru recognized the name as belonging to Shujin’s volleyball coach. Even she, distant from the school’s culture, was fully aware of the man’s reputation. Rumors had a way of making their way around, even when heavily discouraged. “Just yesterday, he was ogling Takamaki. Again!”

“Maybe you’re just jealous,” the other boy said, adjusting his glasses.

“Jealous!? Man, why would you even—” the blonde with the flashy clothes stopped his sentence and sighed. “Oh, you’re pushing my buttons again. Man, you’re scary good at it.”

“You just get angry too easily.” The boy in the glasses was completely nonchalant about the situation, which provided a stark contrast against the excitable blonde.

“Well of course! That bastard thinks he’s king of the friggin’ castle! Treats Shujin like a damn playground.” Haru tried to keep listening in, only for her to briefly lose her balance, feeling as if something had shoved into her. She tried to readjust herself before the worst happened, but it was already too late. She fell face-first against the sidewalk, crying out in pain.

“Holy shit, you okay!?” The voice prompted Haru to look up. Both boys were crouching over her. The blonde gave her a concerned look while the one with the glasses silently offered his hand. She took it, getting back onto her feet with his help. “That seemed like a pretty nasty fall.”

“O-oh, it was nothing!” Haru smiled, trying to downplay how much her forehead was hurting. “Just a little fall - I’m fine. I’m very sorry to have bothered you.”

“Bothered!?” The blonde was incredulous. “It woulda bothered me all week if I didn’t check to see if a cute girl was okay after tripping.”

“Cute?” Haru blushed gently. “Ah, thank you. For helping, I mean. I greatly appreciate it. You two go to Shujin as well, correct?” She got a nod from both boys. “Wonderful! I had gotten a bit turned around on my way to school. Is it alright if I follow you two the rest of the way?”

“Uh, sure,” the blonde said, scratching the back of his head. “It’s actually just around the block from here.” There was a bit of an awkward silence following that as Haru realized that she was so lost, she didn’t even know how close she was to the school. Had she been that unaware of the immediate area around it? “M-my name’s Ryuji, by the way!” he stammered out, clearly not experienced when it came to talking to girls his age. “Sakamoto,” he quickly added. “Ryuji Sakamoto.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sakamato-kun.” Haru looked at the bespectacled boy, waiting for him to give his name. Which he didn’t.

Ryuji elbowed his friend. “C’mon main, tell her your name!”

The boy sighed, adjusting his glasses once again. “Kurusu. Ren Kurusu.”

“Sorry about him,” Ryuji said, grinning. “He’s new.” Haru could tell that “new” didn’t even begin to cover this boy. “Standoffish,” maybe. “Aloof” if she was being polite about it.

Haru nodded, smiling. “My name is Haru Okumura. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Okumura?” Ryuji blinked. “Okumura. Okumura…where have I heard that name before?” Haru readied herself for the first of what would be many people asking her about her near-death experience. What she got instead was…different. “Oh shit, you’re the daughter of the Big Bang Burger guy!” She was a bit taken aback. She had never talked to anyone at school who made the association between her last name and Big Bang Burger right off the bat. “I’m a regular of the place. Even finished the Gravity Burger once!”

“Oh,” Haru said, her smile becoming a bit more uncomfortable. “I’m glad you enjoy the food.”

“Gah, love it!” Ryuji seemed poised to go into a rant about the joys of Big Bang Burger when Ren promptly cut into the conversation.

“We’re going to be late.” Without another word, Ren turned and headed into an alleyway.

“Late?” Ryuji gasped. “Oh, school! Hey, Ren, wait up!” He dashed off after his friend, but not before waving to Haru. “It was nice meeting ya!” He continued waving even as he ran into the alley, nearly running into the corner of a wall because of his split attention.

Haru couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “What strange boys.” They were quite the eclectic duo. She started walking after them, turning into the alleyway. When she came out, the first thing she noticed was that the two boys had stopped in their tracks.

* * *

Sae Nijima gazed into Haru’s eyes, distrustful. Haru couldn’t blame her; she was the woman Sae had been trying to capture for months now. Anything she said would be automatically suspect. “This was a few days after the subway accident,” Sae said. “In a way, it was the tipping point of these ‘psychotic breakdown incidents.’ The Minister of Transportation resigned from his post. A teacher at Shujin was among the dead.”

“I wasn’t aware of that at the time,” Haru said, keeping her eyes locked onto Nijima’s in return. “It was a shock to me when I found out that day.”

“Not surprising.” Sae checked something in her binder that Haru couldn’t get a good look at. “He taught first-years, and only started working there after your own first year would have been over. Still, I can’t imagine how it must have felt.”

“Are you trying to get a reaction out of me?” Haru asked. “Trying to find some guilt? I already told you, I’m not the culprit.”

“That’s still to be proven.” Sae’s stubbornness was already grating on Haru’s nerves. The drugs still running rampant in her system didn’t help either. “But for the sake of argument, let’s momentarily assume you aren’t the one responsible. On that day, were you still a ‘normal student?’”

“Define ‘normal,’” Haru said.

“Faux ignorance won’t get you far,” Sae said. “But fine. Going back to Shujin; the academy was, by most accounts, average. It was a regular prep school with regular students. The only area of note was its volleyball team, which always made it to the nationals. You know why, of course.”

“Kamoshida,” Haru said. She couldn’t contain the disgust in her voice.

“It was around the time of the train crash that things in Shujin started changing. Namely, the situation around Kamoshida. Tell me what happened.”

Haru sighed. “You won’t believe me.”

“Try me.” Sae crossed her arms, giving off a defiant look. If only she knew what she was about to get herself into.

“Very well.” Looking back, while the train crash was certainly the catalyst, the day she returned to school was when she learned of her greatest asset, and her greatest danger. The Metaverse.

* * *

The second thing Haru noticed was the castle. Where Shujin Academy was supposed to be stood instead a gigantic fortress, looking as if it had been ripped straight out of some medieval painting. It stretched into the clouds, which had been colored an angry purple-red and were swirling around the castle’s peak. A massive drawbridge hung open from the front gate, which was tall enough for a giant to enter.

“We came the right way,” Ryuji muttered. “I know we did. But that’s…not possible.” He looked at Ren, then back to the castle. “Maybe we should just go in and ask.” Haru thought that line of reasoning was absurd – this clearly wasn’t the school – but Ren didn’t have a problem with it, walking to the castle with Ryuji. Haru followed along but kept some distance between them and herself.

After about a minute of walking, the three of them entered a grand foyer, much more lavish than the outside of the castle but still maintaining an imposing aura. “This is the school, right?” Ryuji asked. “I’ve been this way tons of times. No way I got turned around.” Ren looked around until his eyes settled on a massive painting of a knight that hung above the central staircase. Haru noticed it too, and the longer she looked at it, the more she felt like she had seen the man in the painting before.

“Halt!” cried out a gruff voice. The students looked towards the source, seeing a man in a suit of armor approach. His proportions were odd; his upper body was too big, too hefty. He looked as if he would lose his balance at any moment because of this, but he walked towards them with no issue. “Who dares intrude?”

“Intrude?” Ryuji raised an eyebrow. “Man, what’s going on? Is this some kinda joke? Because this seems way too big to be a prank. Ren, do you think we’re on one of those prank shows?”

More knights entered the hall, closing in on the trio. Their encroaching presence forced Haru closer to Ryuji and Ren, who only just then realized she was even there. “I think this is for real,” Ryuji said. “That sword looks like it could cut me in half, man! We gotta run!”

“Too late,” Ren said, trying to keep as much distance between himself and the guards as possible. But they weren’t stopping, forcing the trio’s backs against one another.

Ryuji held his hands up defensively. “Listen man, I don’t know what your deal is, but—” The knight in front of him didn’t let him finish, bashing him with his oversized shield. Ryuji hit the ground hard, cursing.

“We’ll take these two to a cell,” the knight said, pointing his sword at Ren and Ryuji. “The rest of you, handle the girl.”

One of the knights grabbed Haru by the wrist, trying to yank her away. “No!” she screamed, trying to pull her arm out from his grip. In response to her defiance, the knight held up his sword and slammed the pommel against her head. Everything went black.

When Haru’s eyes finally opened, she found herself in a familiar situation. Once again, she was in a jail cell. But this one wasn’t like the one she had dreamt of before. It was dirty and dingy, lacking the cool blue hue of the previous cell. Haru also wasn’t chained up, but a quick tug on the cell door revealed it was locked tight. “Hello?” she called out, continuing to try and pull it loose. “Is anyone there? Someone, let me out of here!”

“Hey!” someone called back. “Are you finally awake?”

“Who’s there?” Haru looked around the outside of the cell, finding only a bridge, a giant face statue, and plenty of cages. But she couldn’t see any signs of life.

“I’m in the cell next to you!” the voice answered. Haru couldn’t tell if it belonged to a boy or a girl. “I’m locked up, same as you.”

“Oh, that’s horrible!” Haru couldn’t believe more people had been attacked by those knights.

“Yeah, tell me about it. I saw those guards dragging you over here, and you didn’t look too good.”

“Did you see anybody else with me? I came in with two boys my age.”

“Sorry, but no. You were the only one they had.” The news only made Haru feel worse. Where could these guards have taken Ren and Ryuji? “Listen, now that you’re awake, you can help me out. I’ve got a plan to get us out of here.”

“You do?” Haru decided to focus on escaping her cell for the time being. She couldn’t do anything until that happened.

“I was trying to pick my lock earlier. I fashioned a makeshift lockpick, but the guards found me out and took it before I could finish. If you can get me what I need, I can make another one and get us both out.”

“Okay,” Haru said. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She knew she wouldn’t be able to think straight if she was too panicked. “What do you need?”

“Check for any bits of metal lying around your cell. Mine had a few. Whatever you find, stick your hand through the bars of your door and slide them over to mine. Hopefully, I can fashion another lockpick.”

“I’m on it!” Haru got to work scouring the cell for any metal scraps. She ended up finding a few small rods and what appeared to be the blade of a sickle. Pushing thoughts of what it may have been used for away, she slid them over to the other prisoner’s door. She couldn’t see what they were up to, but she could hear the sounds of clanking metal.

“Alright…” the other prisoner muttered. “Mhm…yeah, this should…”

“What’s your name?” Haru asked, trying to make some sort of small talk.

“The name’s Morgana. But you can call me the master thief, the gentleman of gentlemen, or something similarly appropriate.”

“Morgana, huh? That’s a very nice name. My name is Haru.”

“Well Haru, it looks like…hold on…” a clicking sound rang out, followed by the groan of a rusty cell door opening. “Aha! Got it. Alright, lemme get you out.”

What stepped in front of Haru’s cell was not what she had expected at all. This was mainly because she had expected to see a human. Instead, she stared down at a small cat-like creature. “Huh? A cat?”

“Hey, I’m not a cat!” the creature shouted. “I already told you, I’m Morgana! And I’m a human!”

“Wait, _you’re_ Morgana!?”

The cat laughed, crossing his arms and putting on a tough face. “What? Surprised to see such a handsome, dashing fella such as myself?”

“Not at all,” Haru said flatly. “I just didn’t expect you to be so cute.”

“C-cute…?” Morgana’s ego visibly deflated. “I suppose that’s just one more way to say handsome. Anyways, let me get to work on this lock. I’ll have you out in no time!” He jumped up, shoving his lockpick into the keyhole and dangling in the air as he twisted it around. It was clear that unlocking the door was only half the challenge; the other half was not losing his grip and falling. “Just gimme a second…and…there!” The lock clicked, and the door swung open, swinging Morgana along with it. He yanked the lockpick out and dropped to the floor, wiping his paws together. “Just like that!”

Haru stepped out of the cell, incredulous. “That was amazing! How did you make a lockpick out of just scraps?”

“Oh, it was easy for me. After all, I _am_ a master thief. Now come on, we have to get out of here before the guards find out we’ve escaped.”

“Wait,” Haru said. “We need to find those boys. We can’t just leave them here!”

“We don’t have time for that,” Morgana insisted. “It’s only a matter of time before this castle goes on high alert. We have to escape before that happens.”

“Well, I’m going to find them with or without your help.” Haru wasn’t going to budge. She refused to leave them in this strange place. “So if you aren’t going to help me, at least give me your lockpick so I can break them out.”

Morgana sighed. “You’re really set on this, aren’t you? Fine, fine. I’ll help you. Besides, you’ll never be able to pick that lock. So you need me.” He was getting quite some satisfaction out of that fact.

“Oh, thank you Mona-chan!” Haru exclaimed with glee. “Come on, let’s go look around!” She ran deeper into the dungeons.

“Mona…chan?” Morgana was taken aback by the name, so much so that it took him a few seconds to remember he was supposed to be following Haru. “W-wait for me!” He hurried after her.

Haru checked every cell she ran past, but each time she didn’t find anyone inside. For a while, she began to grow worried, wondering if something awful had happened to those students. When she heard a scream that sounded like it came from Ryuji, the pit in her stomach only grew. “That way!” she shouted, altering her course so she could pursue the scream.

“Haru, be careful!” Morgana shouted. “There’s something really bad down that way. I can feel it!” Haru felt nothing, but she took his advice anyways, keeping an eye out for potential danger. She ran down a flight of stairs and approached a heavy wooden door. She could hear Ryuji’s screams from behind it. “Let’s not charge in yet,” Morgana advised.

Haru looked down at Morgana. “But the screaming! They must be in danger!”

“And we’ll be in danger too if we go in without knowing what we’re up against!” Morgana walked up to the door and pushed it gently, just enough to open a small crack to peer through. “Let’s see what’s inside. Don’t go in until I say so, okay?”

“Okay,” Haru said, peeking past the door. What she saw only made her want to rush in even more. Ryuji and Ren were in a cell together, currently being beaten by some knights. A man was watching the display, grinning maliciously. His outfit was absurd, consisting of naught but a regal robe, a crown, and what appeared to be his underwear. Haru would’ve found it funny if the situation wasn’t so dire. He looked like the same man from that painting in the main hall. And he still looked so familiar.

Ryuji helped Haru make the horrifying connection. “Kamoshida, you bastard! Have you gone nuts or something!?”

“That’s _King_ Kamoshida, scum.” The volleyball coach glared at Ryuji with disdain. “I’m simply enjoying watching you suffer. It’s part of my right, as the ruler of this castle.”

“Ren, this is bad.” Ryuji looked to his friend, who was recovering from a punch to the gut. “What’re we gonna do?”

“If I knew, I’d have done it,” Ren replied with barely contained fury.

“You should listen to the transfer student,” Kamoshida said. “He seems to know his place. Hasn’t fought back a bit.” Ren looked away, seemingly conflicted. “Hm? Oh, do you have something to say, trash?”

“Nothing worth saying to scum like you,” Ren muttered. A guard picked him up by the collar and threw him against the wall, hard. He coughed as the air was knocked out of him.

Haru couldn’t wait any longer. She slammed the door open and ran at Kamoshida. Before anybody could stop her, she shoved him to the ground. His crown flew off his head, clattering against the stone floor behind him. He looked up at her, scowling. “Who the hell are you!?” Before Haru could answer, one of the guards punched her square in the jaw, hard enough to knock her onto her back. She could feel the throbbing pain in her jaw as Kamoshida stood up and walked over to her. “A Shujin uniform? Damn, I didn’t realize there was a cutie like you in the school. Maybe I’ll have some fun with you after this.”

“No…” Haru tried to get up, only for Kamoshida to step on her stomach, pushing her back down. Not satisfied with just that, he started grinding his heel into her gut. Her screams of pain only made him laugh.

“Haru!” Morgana cried out.

“Hm?” Kamoshida looked over at Morgana, still standing by the door. “Another one? I don’t need any more toys for now. Guards, kill him.” The knights stopped beating Ren and Ryuji and ran at Morgana, their blades at the ready.

How could this be happening? Once again, Haru was enveloped by chaos, forced to watch the panic and fear of those around her. Ryuji and Ren were battered and beaten. Morgana was about to be killed. And there she was, unable to stop any of it.

Then again, when was Haru ever able to stop bad things from happening? When she was a little girl, she’d do whatever her father asked, no matter how much it would hurt her, simply because it was him who asked. After all, a good daughter never disobeys her father. And when she did something as small as going on a train when he didn’t want, she nearly died. It was her fault, really. Her fault for not doing what other people wanted. Her fault for not shutting up.

But if she shut up now, people would be hurt. Morgana, Ryuji, Ren, they would be hurt. So what if she barely knew them? They were nice people; she could tell that. But she needed to be quiet. She needed to recede into the corner, back into the shadows where she belonged.

The shadows were so nice. They were quiet, and they were warm. And they were oh so lonely. She was so _lonely_. That was what living in the shadows had brought her. Loneliness. Fear. Emptiness. But the shadows were all she knew.

_“And who says that has to change?”_

The voice echoed through Haru’s mind, soft like silk and deep as a trench. Every ounce of pain in her body disappeared, replaced with a pure agony that made her skull feel like it was about to burst. She brought her hands up to her scalp, clawing at it, trying to get it out.

_“You have bent your will to the shadows. You have let them consume you.”_

Haru could hear herself screaming, but it felt far away, like her consciousness was drifting away from her body. Her vision was blotting, melding, like rippling water.

_“No more. The dark will bend to your will. You will devour it. Unless, of course, you wish to cower in fear? Remain naught but a useless doll to decorate the lives of others? Unable to do anything but watch tragedy befall.”_

“No…” Haru muttered. “No. No, no, no!” Her voice grew louder, more furious. “I won’t…I won’t hold back!” The voice in Haru’s head giggled.

_“Good. I have waited ever so long for this day. You have finally realized who you can become. I look forward to helping you reach that point.”_

Something materialized on Haru’s face. Before she even grabbed it, she knew what it was. A mask. _Her_ mask. Once it was in her grip, she acted on her deepest instinct. She ripped it off, unleashing a torrent of blood, as if she had torn her own skin.

_“I am thou. Thou art I. From today on, you are no longer a doll.”_

Ethereal blue flames raged around Haru, blasting Kamoshida away as if he were little more than an insect. The guards were now focused on her, beginning to quiver in fear. Behind her manifested a vision of a woman in a large, crimson gown. She had no head, but instead donned a covering straight out of a masquerade which had moving, blinking eyes within. Though she had never seen this being before in her life, she knew intimately what it was.

“Thank you, Milady.” Haru gazed at the guards who were trying to hurt Morgana. “Now, let us decimate them together.” She pointed at the knights as massive guns emerged from under Milady’s gown. And with one last word, she sealed the contract binding her to her true self.

“PERSONA!”


End file.
